By Ginika Igboke
Elon Musk said on Jan. 10 that X will make its new recommendation algorithm publicly available within a week, pledging greater transparency as the platform faces mounting regulatory pressure in Europe.
“We will make the new X algorithm, including all code used to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users, open source in 7 days,” Musk wrote in a post on X. “This will be repeated every 4 weeks, with comprehensive developer notes, to help you understand what changed.”
The announcement comes as regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union scrutinize X and Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, over reports that the AI chatbot Grok was used to generate sexually explicit images, including content that appeared to depict minors.
On Jan. 5, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said EU authorities were aware that Grok had introduced a so-called “spicy mode” capable of producing explicit sexual content, some of which allegedly involved childlike imagery.
“This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting,” Regnier said.
Musk responded in a Jan. 8 post that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same consequences as users who upload illegal material to the platform.
That same day, Regnier said a data retention order the EU issued to X last year would be extended through the end of 2026. The order covers X’s algorithms and their potential role in the dissemination of illegal content.
European regulators have also taken enforcement action against the platform. Last month, the EU fined X 120 million euros, or about $140 million, alleging violations of the bloc’s Digital Services Act transparency requirements. The fine cited concerns over X’s paid “blue checkmark” subscription model, limited transparency in its advertising repository, and a lack of access for researchers to the platform’s public data.
In France, prosecutors in July 2025 launched a criminal investigation into X over alleged algorithm manipulation and fraudulent data extraction by the company or its executives. The probe followed a preliminary investigation opened in January 2025 after complaints from a French lawmaker and a senior government official raised concerns about suspected foreign influence on the platform.
After receiving findings from public institutions and researchers, French prosecutors asked police to investigate X as both a corporate entity and through individual employees. The alleged offenses were described as “organized interference with the functioning of an automated data processing system” and “organized fraudulent extraction of data.”
X has rejected the investigation as politically motivated. In a July 21, 2025, statement from its Global Government Affairs account, the company said French authorities had sought access to its recommendation algorithm and real-time data from all user posts so that outside experts could analyze the platform’s operations.
X said the investigation raises serious concerns about impartiality and fairness, noting that French authorities classified the company as an “organized gang” for investigative purposes—a designation that allows for expanded police powers, including wiretapping employees’ personal devices.
The company said it remains unaware of the specific allegations against it and argued that the investigation misapplies French law to advance a political agenda and ultimately restrict free speech.
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